COMPARISON OF MAXIMAL HIP JOINT TORQUE DURING CONCENTRIC, ISOMETRIC AND ECCENTRIC CONTRACTIONS BETWEEN ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN

A higher fall rate has been reported in elderly women than in elderly men. Muscle strength is one of the key fall risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences associated with maximal voluntary hip flexion and extension torque in concentric, isometric and eccentric contractions among the elderly subjects. A total of 20 healthy elderly subjects (10 men and 10 women) participated in this study. A dynamometer was used to measure hip joint torque during various modes of isokinetic contraction in frontal plane. The peak torque was normalized according to each subject's body mass. Independent t-tests were conducted to compare elderly women with elderly men. Elderly women exhibited weaker normalized peak torque during flexion and extension compared with elderly men in isometric contraction mode (p < 0.05). Eccentric strength of elderly women was significantly lower than in elderly men primarily in hip extension (p < 0.05). In contrast, no significant differences were observed in concentric contraction mode between the two genders (p > 0.05). These results suggest that the decreased muscle strength per body mass, especially in isometric and eccentric contraction, may be associated with a higher frequency of falls in elderly women than in elderly men. This study suggests the need for effective muscle strength training and intervention for fall prevention in elderly women.